Driving mechanism.



UNITED Y' STAT-Es Patented May 24, 1904.

PATENT-sOFFICEf FR'NK D-HOWe 'OF BAYSIDECNEWYORKJ I u DRIVING-MEQHANISM Y' fllEtJI FIfl-A'lvIiQlh` forming part lof Letters Application filed my 30,1903.

T0 all whom, it 'may concern: .j

Be it known that I, FRANK DLHOWE, a citize of the United States, resid ing at Bayside, Queenscoun-ty, State of `New-York, have in-k vented certain'new andy useful Improvements in Driving Mechanism, ofrwhich'the following isa specification, reference being had to the acv companying drawings, fo'rminga part hereof.

yIn motor-vehicles andftrucksof the heavier types so much difculty hasbeen experiencedheretofore in providing adividedaxle'for' the drivingewheels suiicient* to withstand `the heavy strains to which iti is subjected that iti is now regardedv as a practical necessityy to equip such vehicles witha continuous axle, upon which the driving-wheels are journaled. In such cases where a single motor-drive' is used the driving-wheels aremade independent of each` other," usually by providing a di; vided counter-shaft, between the'two portions of which a differential gearing is interposed,

2 5- of movement between .the two driving-wheels each portion ofthe counter-shaft beingconr nected to thel driving-wheels by asprocket and chain. Another construction which has been adopted to secure the'necessary freedom has been to place the-di'iferentialgear upon the end of the drivingaxle adjacent to one of vthe driving-wheelhubs. -The former con-` struction is the one, however, which is almost universally employed: fIthas thedisadvantages of being a ratherie'xpen'sive construction and the diiferentialgearbeing underneath the central portion ofthe vehicle isgalways dilii` cult to get at when inspection or overhauling is required. Furthermore, owing tothe fre--A quentl distortions of the vehicle-body upon which Ythe divided counter-shaftl is mounted `it is-impossible to keep the twoportions ofsaid shaft in alinement without providing iexible joints, in which case the shaft is re-v quired to be made in several parts.- On the" i whole, therefore, this construction is 'complexl and expensive. When'the other construction is employed, and particularly in heavy vehicles? a'large differential gear has to be used -in'or-'f der that it shall possess the necessary strength, and,'furthermore, the position of' this difer ential gear adjacent to the wheel-hub renders itliable-tol occasional injury;l -fBesidesthe'se rates No, vcos, dated May`24,"1 9o21. serinNo. 167,544. (Nomade.)

t disadvantages of this construction there is'one other-namely, that when the differential gear' y is-thus placed upon the axle end it is impossi- .blelto use theset-,axle construction, which is particularly desirable infvehicles which carry* 5 5 mitted and upon-one' end ofwhich a difieren#l 65 Vtial gearing is-located. The counter-shaft isvconnected with the driving-wheel by-sprocl.- ets and chains and is adapted to be run at a suflicientl-y high speed to permit acompara-A tively small differential gearing to be used'. 7oI

Another object of theinvention isto overcome* the effects of-anydistortion of the vehicle-body upon thecounter-shaft anddriving-gear when j the counter-shaft and the driving-gear from" :whichpthe shaft receives its power are moun't-` 7 5` ned upon thervehicleebody, and this is accomplished -by 'partially supporting the drivingl gear upon thc counte1shaft,'as described hereinafter.'-f^" Still. another object of the invention is the 8oi provision of an improved differential gearing which may be used-convenientlywith the other improvements described her'einand,-4 as well-,- in connectionrwithmany other devices where a differential gearing isnecessary or desirable! 85 f "Intheaccompanying drawings and inlthe vfollowing description -all j the 'improvements are :set'forthas `applied to a motor-vehicle, 'andso much ofthe latter is shown and' de- @scribed asis necessary to enable the invention' 90' `tobe understood.

i *Inf said drawings, Figure l is a plan view of :driving mechanism for amotor-Vehicle and a' [portion of the body-frame, the' driving-gear l eing partly in-section.- Fig:` 2 is a` view in 9 y5 central. longitudinal sectionof'lthe counter' shaft" and differential gearing,fa portion of the shaft 1being broken away for convenience in illustrating; and Fig. v3 is a view in end elevation of the differential gearing with the'capIEm"y f i and one of the internal gears removed and one of the pinion-supporting rings partly broken away to disclose one of the pinions.

l The driving-wheels a, Fig. l,l of the vehicle are rotatably mounted upon the solid continuous axle to which the frame c of the vehicle-body is secured, as usual. Mounted in bearings d, which are preferably some. form of selfalining bearings and which are secured to the body-sills of the frame c, is a continuous counter-shaft e, upon one end of which is a differential gearing g. As will be seen more clearly when this gearing is described in detail, a sprocket-wheel is secured to each of the driven members ofthe gearing, these sprocket-wheels being shown at /L and vl, respectively, and chains 7L' ande'l 'connect the sprockets with kthe driving-wheels. The usual struts h2 and 712 are provided between the counter-shaft and the driving-axle in order to maintain at all times the proper distance between the sprockets and the driving-wheels.

The counter-shaft, Fig. l, receives its power from the driving-gear j', of which a bevel-pinion 7c is securedA around the shaft and meshes with a second bevel-pinion Z, journaled in the gear-casing m. The driving-gear j is secured at one end to the vehicle-body-in any suitable way, but preferably at one point so located as to nearly balance the weight of the gear, while the other end is supported, as shown, by the counter-shaft. With the driving-gear thus partially supported upon the continuous counter-shaft no body strains can affect the action of the gears through which the shaft receives its power, and such construction is much simpler and less expensive than the ordinary one, in which the driving-gear is whollyv supported upon the vehicle-body and a divided shaft with fiexible joints is employed. In some cases it may be desirable to place the counter-shaft adjacent to the driving-wheel truck, and in such eases the driving-gearjmay be made to transmit power to said shaft in any well-known manner.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, in 'which the differential gearing is shown in detail, the driving member of said gearing is indicated by the reference-letter a, and the two'driven members are the internal gears 0 and p. The driving member is formed from a cylindrical block or casting having a sleeve portion n, which is made to fit within the hollow counter-shaft @,upon which it is journaled and with which it is engaged' by clutch-teeth, as indicated by the dotted lines, Fig. 2, and a body portion which is recessed for. the insertion of pinions a2 and a3. Preferably there are six of these pinions, although in theory any even number of pinions could be employed, and accordingly six recesses are cut in the body portion'a. Three of these recesses are formed in one face or on one side of the body portion of the driving member and three on the Vother face or side, any recess in one face or side being between and communicating with or intersecting the two adjacent recesses` in the other face or side, so that when the pinions are mounted one in each of these recesses each pinion ean mesh with the two adjacent pinions. When six pinions are employed, the recesses will preferably be formed and the pinions mounted in such positions upon the body portion of the driving member 'a that the axes of the pinions will intersect points upon a circle the center of which is upon the axis of the driving member and the radins of which is the distance between the axes of adjacent pinions. rlhe pinions are journaled at one end thereof in the body portion of the driving member, while the other ends of the journals of the pinions are carried in rings 1' and s, which are provided upon each side of the body portion of the driving member. These rings serve to steady the pinions, which are subjected to great strains, and it is strueturally preferable to extend both ends of the journals through these rings, as shown, Fig. 2. It will thus be seen that the driving meniber a of the differential gearing carries two alternating sets of pinions 712 and n, one `set being in one plane and the other set being in another parallel plane, the pinions of the two sets overlapping sufficiently to permit each of the pinions in one plane to mesh with the two adjacent pinions in the other plane. Of the driven members of the gearing the internal gear o surrounds the driving member and thev pinions 71,3, with which it meshes, and secured to said gear 0 is the sprocket-wheel t, which is journaled wholly upon the counter-shaft c. The other driven member, the internal geary), is secured to a solid shaft t, which extends through the hollow counter-shaft e and the driving member a and upon the other end of lOO which is provided the sprocket vf, also wholly journaled upon the counter-shaft Both ends of the counter-shaft are preferably provided with similarly-shaped caps u, one of posed to view and may be examined while in operation. When the gearing is to be taken apart, a nut o, which secures the same upon the end of shaft t, is removed and the internal gear p, the driving member a, internal gear 0, and sprocket /L are readily removable in the order named, the clutch-teeth formed upon the driving member a and the shaft a readily engaging and disengaging. The accessibility of the differential gearing in the present driving mechanism both from its position and manner of construction is at once evident. 1

When power is being transmitted through the difieren tial gearing to the driving-wheels, the driving member u will be rotated by the counter-shaft e and will transmit its motion,

upon either of the driven gears vexceed that upon 'the other ofisaidf gears theset of pinions in mesh with the former `ge`ar.1will travel upon-said gear', transmit their' motion tothe other",y .set'of pini'ons, andcause them to .travel in the opposite-direction upon the otherdriven gear.

,"Besides vthe. advantages which the' presentformof differential gearing possesses on account of lits `ready accessibility there are some otherswhich are duev to the positions which the pinions occupy with respect'to each otherl and tothe driven gears o' and j). .y In heavy Vehiclesa lvery great .strain isl placed upon each of these pinions, whichI strain is ordinarily transmitted to the journals of thepinions and their bearingsy and tends-to wear them out in a short time. In the present case it will be observed vthat each pinion meshes upon each' side with'the two adjacent pinions, and accordingly the strains produced upon said pinions are equal and opposite., and therefore in a large measure 'will neutralize each other. Again, inasmuch. as eachpinion transmits power to twoother pinions. the stress upon the teeth is just half what it would be in case one pinion received and transmitted the total power. It will be obvious that the construction of the gearing may be modined in certain respects without changing its principle of operation. For example, the internal driven gears o and j) might be replaced by external gears located in the same planes, but within instead of around the pinions. Other structural changes of like character might be made without departing from the invention. v

When the improvements hereinbefore de-l scribed are suppliedtoa motor-vehicle, it is evident that the differential gear will always be readily accessibleffor inspection or repair, and at the same time its location will be such as not to expose it to injury. Furthermore, connections between the driving-gear and the differential are made without the use of iieXilble joints, while'at the same time no bindingL of the driving-gear can be caused by distor-. -tions in the vehicle-body.` In addition to these advantages the driving-wheel axle may be set, and inasmuch as the counter-shaft may be arranged to run at avery high speed the differential gear may be made very small and compact.

I claimy as my inventionl. In a vehicle, the combination with driv-` ing-wheels and a continuous axle upon which said wheels are mounted,` of a continuous shaft journaled in bearings upon the Vehiclebody, a dierential gearing upon one end vof said shaft, the driven members of the gearing.

being connected respectively to.the.. drivingwheels. ,Y

2.` ,In a vehicle,ithecombination withdriv-A 'ingwheels and-an axle uponwhch said wheels darefmounted, of acontinuous, hollow-shaft, a differentiall gearing ,upon one end of s'aidshaft', a sprocket-wheelupon said shaft.. and secured to one of the driven members of said gearing, anotherl sprocket-wheel upon .said shaft,

a shaft within the hollow shaftand connect-v ing the other driven member- Of said .gearing withthe second-named sprocket-wheeLand,

chains connecting the sprocket-Wheelsandthe driving-wheels.

l 3,. In ave'hicle, the combinatieniwithidrivfl ing-wheels and an axle uponwhich saidwheels.

are mounted, of acontinuous shaft, a differshaft, 'connections between the driven mem- Iential gearing upon one eind of y said shaft, l. 'sprocket-wheels wholly supportedupon said necting thesproclret-wheels and the, driving- 'f wheels.

L4c.` Ina vehicle, the combination .with

4ingwheels and an axleupon. which saidwheels'..

are mounted, of a continuous hollow shaftaaa differential gearing upon one end of said shaft,

a sprocket-wheel upon and wholly supported by said shaft and secured to one of the driven. members of said gearing, another sprocketwheel upon and wholly supported by said shaft, a shaft within the hollow shaft and connecting the other driven member of said gearing with the' second-named sprocket-wheel, and chains connectingv the sprocket-wheels and the driving-wheels.

5. In a vehicle, the combination with driving-wheels and an axle upon which said wheels are mounted, of a continuous hollow shaft, a.

differential gearingof which the driving memros ber has a bearing within theV hollow shaft,

clutch-teeth between the driving member of the gearing and the shaft, and sprocket-wheels connected tothe respective driven members ofthe gearing and having their bearings en-` tirely upon the shaft. i A

6. In a vehicle, the combination of a continuous driving-shaft, a differential gearing vupon one end of the driving-shaft, and driving-gear partially supported by the drivingshaft. i

7. In a vehicle, the combination of a driving-shaft mounted upon .the body of the vehicle, connections between the driving-shaftv and drivingwheels, and driving -gear partially supportedby the driving-shaft.

8. In a vehicle, the combination ofa continu- .ous driving-shaft, a diferential gearing upon one end of the driving-shaft, a gear upon the drivingshaft, a gear-casing partially supported by said shaft, and a second gear adapted to receive power and transmit the same to the rst-'mentioned gear.

9. rlhe combination of a hollow shaft, a block having an extended sleeve by which it is supported within and engages the hollow Shaft, a second shaft within the hollow shaft and extending through the sleeve and block, pinions carried by the block, and two gears meshing with the pinions, one journaled upon the hollow shaft and the other secured to the second shaft.

10. The combination ofva hollow shaft, a block having an extended sleeve by which it is supported within the hollow shaft, clutchteeth formed upon the end of the sleeve and Within the hollow shaft whereby the block and shaft may engage each other, a second shaft within the hollow shaft and extending through the sleeve and block, pinions carried by the block, and two gears meshing with the pinions, one journaled upon the hollow shaft and the other'secured to the second shaft.

11. The combination of a hollow shaft, a block having an extended sleeve by which it is supported Within and engages the hollow shaft, a second shaft within the hollow shaft and extending through the sleeve and block, two sets of pinions carried upon said block, the pinions in one set being in a different plane and alternating with the pinions in the other set, and two internal gears surrounding the pinions, one of said gears being journaled upon the hollow shaft and meshing with one set of pinions, the other of said gearsbeing secured to the second shaft and meshing-with the other set of pinionsand each of said pinions meshing with the two adjacent pinions.

l2. The combination of a hollow shaft, a block having an extended sleeve by which it is supported within and engages the hollow shaft, a second shaft within the hollow shaft and extending through the sleeve and block, two sets of pinions carried upon said block, the pinions in one set being in a different plane and alternating with the pinions in the other set, a sprocket-wheel liournaled upon the hollow shaft, two rings geared internally one secured to the sprocket-wheel and surrounding and meshing with one set of pinions, the other secured to the second shaft and surrounding and meshing with the other set oi pinions, and each of said pinions meshing with the two adjacent pinions.

This speciiieation signed and witnessed this 28th day of J uly, A. l). 1903.-

FRANK D. H UWE.

In presence of- Y ANTHONY N. JEsBuRA, LUCIUS E. VARNEY. 

